


Common Ground

by Rueitae



Category: Magic Knight Rayearth, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Crossover, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Gen, Implied Sexual Content, Married Couple, POV Lance (Voltron), Post-Canon, Romantic Fluff, fuu and pidge are kindred spirits, fuurio is married, not sure if that is the right tag but there is some sadness, plance is engaged, which doesn't last long
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:27:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23470909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rueitae/pseuds/Rueitae
Summary: When there are only two chairs open in the entire cafe, one couple must share their table with another.
Relationships: Ferio/Hououji Fuu, Lance/Pidge | Katie Holt
Comments: 10
Kudos: 10





	Common Ground

**Author's Note:**

  * For [a_haunted_sock](https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_haunted_sock/gifts), [artemisarya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/artemisarya/gifts).



> Dedicated to Lee and Arya, my fellow plance friends whose thirst for fuurio made me binge MKR manga in one setting. I've not seen the anime yet, so all my knowledge is manga based. Thank you! 
> 
> Please go look at the beautiful art that Arya made to accompany this fic [here](https://artemisarya.tumblr.com/post/614442150059507712/for-a-haunted-sock-and-rueitae-fanart-for-the)!

There’s an uneasiness in the air that Lance can’t quite place. 

Japan is beautiful in the springtime, their visit the culmination of Pidge’s careful planning and observations over the years to figure out just  _ exactly _ when the cherry blossoms would be in bloom. She hangs on his elbow, ohhing and awwing and gasping in delight of the view at practically every turn they take down the park’s pathway... before promptly ruining the moment for herself by revealing her allergies with a giant sneeze. 

Pidge’s misfortune isn’t the reason his gut tells him to stand on edge, he knows that much. His face twists in agitation for not being able to pinpoint what bothers him. Their business trip turned vacation has been nearly perfect. Leaders of the Alliance had a productive meeting, he and Pidge had the most romantic candle lit dinner by the sea, the cool breeze tempered by the hot night in their hotel room, and ate at the absolute neatest sushi restaurant for lunch earlier that day.

This feels like a Voltron thing… but Voltron isn’t around anymore. It is possible it could be a space magic thing - though that had generally seemed to disappear  _ with _ Voltron.

They emerge from the park into a quaint downtown area. An outdoor cafe is the first thing that greets them, the specials of the day written in the local traditional way, Galaxy Garrison standard, and then lastly in Galra - the universal common language. Their suggested treat of the day is a strawberry-chocolate cake and all of a sudden all of Lance’s uneasiness melts away as his stomach rumbles. 

He holds his aching tummy, chuckling with an embarrassed smile as he turns to Pidge. “Ready for a midday snack?”

Pidge raises an eyebrow. “Lance,” she whispers harshly with narrowed eyes. “We are in  _ public _ .”

Heat invades his cheeks faster than a laser blast. Sheepishly he points towards the cafe. “I think they have peanut butter shakes?”

Her eyes widen and a blush fills her own cheeks. Lance forgets all misunderstanding, soaking in how adorable Pidge is when flustered. Clearing her throat, she salvages her mistake (not that he blames her for it after the events of last night), “Not as good as Kaltenecker’s milkshakes, I bet.”

“Only one way to find out,” he says, tugging her towards a table and chairs with a spring in his step. “Taste testing milkshakes is such a difficult task, but who better for the job than the defenders of the universe?”

His heart flutters with delight when she smiles broadly. “You’re right. And I call myself the genius.”

“Merely by basking in your presence,” he concedes, stepping away gracefully as he runs his fingers along her arm to rest finally in her hand as if they are dancing. With his free hand, he slides one of the four chairs around the empty table out for Pidge to sit.

A wry smile tugs up her face as she sits and he pushes her in. “You’re awfully ornery today. What’s the occasion?”

Lance shrugs as he takes his seat, taking a menu from the centerpiece. The honest answer to her question is that he’s still uneasy and joking around is his comforting distraction. Not wanting to worry her during an otherwise great outing, he says, “What, do I need an occasion to shower you with praise? Never bothered you before.”

“I’ll never say no to a compliment,” Pidge tells him frankly as she takes a menu for herself, “just so long as you’ll let me do the same for you.”

The side of his mouth twitches. They’d talked about this before. For all Lance loves to be lauded with his accomplishments, a small part of him remembers his pre-Voltron days when he didn’t think he mattered at all. He suffers from wanting all the praise in the universe, but still has a hard time taking sincere gratitude. 

“Like my good looks and charming personality,” he grins, showing off the white of his teeth. 

Pidge rolls her eyes, but she smiles in amusement all the same. “If you want to scare everyone away with your awful flirting.”

He scoffs mockingly. “You’re cruel Pidge. I can  _ heart _ ly believe you’d say that,” he says, dramatically clutching his heart.

The pun has the desired effect. Pidge turns red in the cheeks, puffing up as if a cat ready to hiss but of embarrassment. Lance smiles smugly as he leans his arm into the table, enjoying the view. Years together has taught him that the way to Pidge’s heart is through praise and puns, and while flirting brought its own brand of punniness, doing so in public always flustered her most. It was always cute and Lance relishes each and every moment of it. 

“I’ll get you for that one,” she promises, sticking her nose in the menu. 

He winks. “I look forward to it.”

A waiter comes out and takes their order. Lance orders a slice of cake and Pidge a milkshake. They talk about yesterday’s meeting and how their friends are doing. The tables fill up around them as more couples and groups of friends descend on the cafe. In the midst of the falling cherry blossoms, Lance fancies himself to dream a little about how beautiful the little pink flowers look in Pidge’s hair and how perfectly they’d look against a white dress.

Until Lance feels the disturbance again and airdrops him out of his daydream. 

Perhaps it's  _ because _ he’s looking for something strange then, that he notices them right away. Their… oppositeness in outward appearance, the way he almost sees Pidge’s scolding face on the woman dressed for a tea party, and the smug look the man wears that Lance can practically feel in his soul with his board shorts and tank top, completely underdressed for whatever party the woman is going to. 

“You know you can’t do that here,” the woman chides as they walk to the cafe counter. “Honestly, of all the embarrassing, crude, and childish things…” she fumes.

With far more suave Lance first gave him credit for, the man wraps an arm around the woman’s shoulders. “Aw, you’re cute when you’re mad, Fuu.”

She shoots him a stern look. “Ferio…”

He holds his hands up in surrender, sighing. “Fine. I just wanted to get you that stuffed alien thing. It looked so much like Mokona I was a bit worried he was back.”

“Still, surely in Cephiro, taking coin from a public fountain is severely frowned upon?” she glares. 

“It was just sitting there!” he protests, leaning against the counter, arms crossed. “Tell me you wouldn’t do the same if it was something you really wanted.”

She blushes and turns from him, staring intently at the menu above them. “Of course not!”

He shuffles closer to her, a little fang of a tooth showing in his smirk. “Not even that gameflux thingy?”

“I - er,” she looks around, as if to make sure no one hears. “Only as a last resort,” she admits. 

Pidge coughs. “That sounds super familiar, doesn’t it, Lance?”

Letting his jaw drop slightly and his eyes narrow in the direction of the couple, he nods absentmindedly. “Yeah…”

Too familiar, actually. Maybe  _ this _ was the disturbance he felt. 

The epic tone of Pidge’s comm rings amid the crowded background noise. “Oh,” she says brightly. “Text from Mom. Awww,” she melts in her chair, “the seeds we recovered from Olkarion are blooming - Lance look!” 

Right before Pidge forces the HUD from her glasses in front of his face, he observes the waiter handing the couple at the counter menus, the three of them scanning the area for open seats. The only ones of which… are right next to him and Pidge. Sharing the table. The waiter points in their direction.

The flowers are really beautiful, exactly like what he remember Olkarion to be filled with, but he hardly finds the joy in it. “Heads up, Pidge,” he whispers. “Dude copying Krolia’s haircut and girlfriend approaching.”

“I’m sorry to intrude,” the woman begins politely, “would either of you mind terribly sharing the table with Ferio and I?”

“No problems from me!” Pidge chirps. She nudges Lance with her elbow. “It’s kinda nice that people are finally talking to us without asking for autographs right away.”

The blank faces on the couple send Lance into a sobering reality. Leaning over, he shares it with Pidge in the quietest voice as they maneuver the metal chairs against the concrete to sit down at the table. “I don’t think they know who we are, Pidge.”

The waiter is there to take their order almost immediately. The both of them order tea, and the woman a slice of cheesecake.

“I’m Fuu,” the woman says, her smile soft and kind, “and this is my husband, Ferio.”

Maybe it’s the years in space getting to know a multitude of people for the first time, with their own expressions and ways to communicate, but Lance catches a sharpness in Fuu’s eyes that he can recognize anywhere - Pidge’s expression, when she’s calculating and observing. If Fuu is anything like Pidge, then there’s much more to this sugary sweet personality than what is on the surface. 

“Hey,” Ferio says with a friendly wave. Lance looks him up and down with scrutiny. Though he certainly could have dyed it, green hair isn’t that common on Earth. The scar that runs across the bridge of his nose reminds Lance of Shiro. If not for his perfectly round ears and comfort in the very Earth clothing, Lance would have assumed him from off-world. Part of the old rebellion perhaps?

“Lance,” he greets. Perhaps his name will get them to realize who they dine with. “And this is Pidge.” Surely they’d recognize her name. 

“Engaged,” Pidge adds to the question on Fuu’s lips as she flicks a finger between herself and Lance. 

Fuu clasps her hands together. “Oh, congratulations. That’s an exciting time. We enjoyed our engagement period quite a bit.”

Ferio raises an eyebrow. “Didn’t we get married the same week I asked you?”

“Yes,” Fuu responds patiently, though agitation seems to ride under her skin, a single eye twitching ever so slightly. “Though you’d asked me to stay with you at the castle for nearly two years prior to that.  _ That _ is when Clef began wedding preparations.”

“Ohhh,” a light bulb seems to go off in Ferio’s head. “That’s how we did it so quick.”

Pidge snorts. “That sounds like something we’d do, right Lance?”

“Oh, yeah totally,” he responds automatically. With the weird feeling persisting over him, he feels as if it is his duty to get to the bottom of who these two really are. “Castle huh? What brings you two here?”

For a split second, Fuu’s eyes flash, as if she accepts his challenge - whatever challenge he’d somehow issued. “My childhood home isn’t far from here, Ferio is from… further away,” she says a bit nervously. “We are here to visit my family.”

“It’s okay,” Pidge chimes in, an effort to be as friendly and accommodating as possible. This isn’t the first time they’ve seen anyone afraid to admit they’ve emigrated from Earth. “You can say a different planet. Lance and I have been all over the universe. I think it’s great everyone’s spreading out. To see humanity among the stars is something I barely dreamed about when I was a kid.”

Lance’s chest warms and swells with pride as he listens to Pidge talk so animatedly about human progress. As Paladins of Voltron, and as native earthlings, he feels the same excitement to see humanity join with the rest of the universe in peace - to befriend all the friends they’ve already made when creating the Voltron Coalition turned Alliance. 

“That… explains why there are aliens on Earth now,” Fuu observes, eyes drifting over to one such couple taste testing every variety of Earth-food the cafe has to offer. “It feels like I’ve jumped from one RPG to another, to be honest.”

Pidge’s eyes light up. “You’re a gamer too? Do you play Killbot Phantasm?”

Fuu gasps in delight. “That was one of my favorites as a child! I only beat up until the tenth installment though,” she finishes with resigned sigh, a rather dramatic hand rising to hold her cheek. 

“I’ve got them all up through twenty-seven!” Pidge exclaims, eyes sparkling, “You can totally come over and check them out!”

“Truly?”

“You  _ just met _ .”

Lance stares at Ferio, mouth agape in the same way as the green-haired man, both astounded they’d said the same thing at the same time. Lance files precaution away in his brain, the same as he knows Pidge is doing despite her excitement over a newfound friend.

It seemed only yesterday  _ he _ was the one making friends left and right at the Garrison and now here Pidge was making friends all over the universe. 

“Ah, that might be a problem as we are on Cephiro the majority of the time,” Fuu says sadly. 

Lance chews on his lip. “Cephiro… I don’t recall that name coming up on the Alliance list.”

“Who was your rep for the meeting yesterday?” Pidge follows up.

“Meeting?” Fuu asks innocently.

“Yeah, like whoever your planet’s leader is would have been there,” Pidge says. “Maybe we know them!”

Ferio gulps darkly, chuckling while the color drains slightly from his face. “Leader huh? Well, last I checked that was  _ Hikaru-- _ ”

The subtle glare that Fuu gives him both impresses and terrifies Lance. He reads between the lines, “ _ You’re _ your planet’s leader?” he asks incredulously. 

“Prince Ferio of Cephiro,” Fuu supplies. “Even though he doesn’t look it, he’s quite charming.”

Ferio clearly doesn’t get the reference, but the sly way Pidge and Fuu grin - Pidge using  _ his _ finger gun technique! - at each other sends a chill down Lance’s spine. It was like discovering Pidge having a secret older sister. 

“Wait, that means you’re not part of the Alliance then,” Lance reasons. “You totally should be! Pidge and I have the connections you need.” He wonders if this was the weird feeling he’s had all day. Randomly meeting the prince of a planet outside the Alliance? Well then, it was just his diplomacy senses tingling! With that realization, Lance feels much better about Fuu and Ferio.

Diplomat he can be. 

“I suppose it has been a bit odd since we returned,” Fuu admits. “My family talks about aliens as if commonplace now. I don’t have to hide the fact that I live on another planet now.” Her face darkens. “We didn’t even know about the invasion until after the fact.”

The guilt in her eyes is one that Lance knows all too well. Displaced in time for three years, Lance’s own family suffered while he had the means to do something about it, and hadn’t been able to do a thing. His gut twists unpleasantly wondering if Fuu had lost any family, if their situations reversed if he would blame her for not being there sooner. 

“Fuu… it’s all in the past now,” Ferio leans over and Lance can almost imagine the gentle way he mirrors his voice by taking her hands from her lap and into his own, because it's the same thing Lance would do for Pidge. 

“Wow, usually I’m the one sticking my foot in my mouth,” Pidge says blandly. She softens when she addresses Fuu and Ferio. “Sorry, we know the occupation was stressful for everyone. Voltron got there as soon as possible.”

To Lance’s surprise, Ferio  _ rolls his eyes _ . “Yes, Voltron certainly did things. Not the most impressive I’ve seen though.”

Before Lance can ask exactly what is more impressive than saving the universe, their orders arrive. Pidge squeals in delight, literal hearts dance in her eyes as she takes the first slurp of her shake. She proceeds to melt in her chair, elbows planted firmly on the table to keep her from falling to the ground. “I think I’m in heaven,” she moans. 

Fuu takes a sip of tea, elegantly bringing it to her lips, reminding Lance briefly of how Allura would act during the rare times the seven of them could be together, just enjoying each other’s company with no work. It pricks at his heart, though his mood lightens enough when he sees the tea makes Fuu feel better. 

It’s evident Ferio feels the same. Their eyes remain locked on each other, melting in each other’s presence in a way Lance has only ever seen in shoujo manga. 

“So,” Lance starts, digging a fork into his cake. As much of a romantic as he is, it bothers him that Voltron isn’t being acknowledged as the coolest universal savior. At least it makes some sense they haven’t heard of him and Pidge, not being on Earth and on a planet clearly untouched by the former Galra Empire. “What’s cooler than Voltron?”

Ferio smiles with a toothy grin. “Cephiro has its own Magic Knights,” he says with pride. “Fuu is one of the three who pilots one of the mighty rune gods.”

Mouth full of cake and fork half inserted, Lance’s eyes bug out.

“So the rune gods are robots too?” Pidge asks, hands tucked under her chin adorably. “We had no idea there were other mechs like Voltron.”

“And we had no idea there was such a thing as Voltron,” Fuu says, looking half embarrassed but also terribly fond at how Ferio gushes over her with pride. 

“Well that settles it,” Pidge says.

“Wait, settles  _ what _ ?” Lance asks hotly - shocked. 

“Reminds me of our own water mistress,” Ferio snarks smugly. 

“This is what the Defenders project and the Alliance is all about,” she continues, then looks to the other couple. “You guys  _ have _ to come to the Galaxy Garrison with us.”

“I’m not sure there’s much we could offer other than a social exchange between planets,” Fuu says hesitantly.

“There’s plenty!” Pidge insists. “We know Altean Alchemy is what transformed Voltron and the Atlas, we can see if your rune gods run the same way, or if there’s a completely different kind of magic out there that we can use to defend the universe. And you’re big into video games, we can totally hang out and breeze through the entire Killbot series.”

Ferio shifts in his seat. “I’d hate to leave Cephiro…”

“Perhaps we wouldn’t have to all the time,” Fuu muses. “If the project supervisor needs coders I can do that from home.”

Pidge makes a happy noise. “Double or single modulation?”   


“Double, of course,” Fuu replies as if there is no other way.

“You’re  _ hired _ ,” Pidge tells her gleefully.

Fuu’s brows crease. “But only the--” her eyes grow wide, giving way to a delighted gasp. “You are Katie Holt!”

“Everyone calls me Pidge,” she confirms with a shrug. “Blame my brother for that one.”

Lance shuffles his feet under the table. Pidge is the name that made her famous. Pidge is the name he grew to know her under. He knows she likes her birth name perfectly well, but it’s still strange to hear other people refer to her as Katie rather than the Pidge he loves. “It suits you,” he pouts. 

She smiles at him, one of fondness. “You’re sweet Lance, thanks.”

Fuu turns to Ferio, a neutral smile on her face. “Well, it seems you will be much busier handling delegates from many more planets.”

Ferio matches her smile with a smirk. “Ah, ah, I believe the wedding vows were all about  _ sharing _ in each other’s trials, being with each other in the good and bad, being helpful and encouraging. Right beside me so that the meetings will be  _ shorter _ .”

“Oh I will be most encouraging,” Fuu continues without missing a beat after taking a sip of tea. “From my office where I will likely be writing code for the robots that serve aboard the Atlas. It will keep me most busy, isn’t that right, Pidge?”

Pidge hums. “It will. Altean alchemy is still something that even I don’t understand. It could take beyond our lifetimes to make code that makes it work with the rest of the universe.”

Ferio looks as though he’s about to be sick, Fuu maintaining a bright neutral smile that Lance suspects is her smug look. “It will be good to make more friends,” she says, patting Ferio’s back. “The animals of the forest don’t always talk back.”

“Pidge’s mom makes sure there’s plenty of green space around the Garrison,” Lance chimes in flatly, feeling just a tad bit annoyed at Ferio, who clearly would love to pass his title off to whomever he can and live his own life. It’s certainly not Allura’s example, and after seeing first hand what she’d done for everyone and what Zarkon hadn’t done, how Lubos forsook his own people, nothing makes him more angry than royals who don’t take their duties seriously. Maybe Pidge making friends with these two wasn’t such a great idea - maybe that was the weird feeling he’s had. “It’s right next to the sparring area.”

To his dismay, Ferio perks up at that. “Now that is something I can do well.”

“Ferio said you were a knight, Fuu,” Pidge says. “What weapon do you use? A lot of us use the sparring area to exercise.”

Fuu places a finger to her chin, head raised in thought. “I suppose I have been using a sword of late, though Ferio insists my form is rather lacking.”

“She fights like an archer,” Ferio adds.

“Because I was for years, competing in high school even.” She chuckles, taking a sip of tea. “Windam prefers a sword though, but it wasn’t that bad. The sword that was given to me was made precisely for me and my skill level and it evolved with me.”

Lance’s jaw drops. “That’s just like our bayards.”

“We have to show you around,” Pidge says, excitement growing. “We can play video games, you can help Lance get that shooting club off the ground, and you know what it's like to pilot a giant mech. We can definitely use you.”

“Except that Mr. Prince over here has some royal duties back home to see to,” Lance says, making sure Ferio sees the side eye he’s been given and prepares for a fight. 

Ferio’s nose twitches. “Those duties are in the hands of our very capable friends, who are far more adept than I at that sort of thing. I trust them the same as I do Fuu; with my life. Surely the Paladins understand that.”

“Of course I do!” Lance snaps. “Countless times Pidge has put that into practice so that the universe is free of dead-beat rulers who don’t do their jobs and care for their people.”

“Lance!”

Ferio stands, chair scratching against the concrete. “Want to say that again?”

“I think I see the problem,” Fuu says calmly, placing a hand on Ferio’s. It takes only that single action for all the anger to blow out of him and sit back down in a huff. She turns to Lance, eyes hard. “I guarantee he isn’t shirking any duties. Surely you understand the concept that everyone has their own unique role to fill? Just as the Lions chose you, me and my friends were also chosen to be Knights. On Cephiro, everything is governed by each individual’s Will. Ferio feels strongest when he keeps everyone physically safe with a sword in his hand, just as the Will of our friends are best suited for ambassador and administrative roles.”

Pidge nods, head down solemnly. “We’ve seen a lot of rulers do a lot of terrible things… and a dear friend of ours who’d lost her people sacrificed everything to save everyone else. It’s a bit of a sore subject.”

A thick silence settles over the table. 

Lance bites his lip. “I’m sorry,” he says. “Everyone in the universe has had it bad.”

Ferio rapidly taps his leg under the table, pointedly looking away with his arms crossed. “It’s not like I hate it - I’ll do anything for my people I’m just… not the best at it.”

“I think,” Fuu says, lifting her tea cup. “We should enjoy our treats and talk about what we do have in common.” She smiles. “Friendship is the most powerful force in the universe after all.”

“That I’ll drink to,” Pidge says, lifting her milkshake in the air.

“Aye, that’s my wife,” Ferio adds.

Lance doesn’t have a drink, but he’s pleased to raise a fork full of cake in salute. “That’s the truest statement if I ever heard…” he smirks, “aside from Pidge being the most brilliant person in the universe.”

“Ah, no,” Ferio points out. “That would be Fuu.”

“Nah, uh,” Lance grins devilishly, because nothing breaks tension like a play fight. “You just wait until you see what Pidge has done. She gave the Green Lion cloaking when we’d only been in space for like, a week.”

Ferio fumes, but none of it is truly angry. “Well Fuu…”

Lance barely listens as he babbles on, enjoying the flustered looks on both women, particularly Pidge as she sucks on the straw, slurping in her milkshake with a shy but appreciative smile just for him. 

Having some more friends from across the universe and at home will be good for them, especially with so much common ground. So much for the bad feeling in his gut, it was simply picking out the next diplomatic - and friend-making - affair. 

~~~~~

Across the cafe, watching the two happy couples, Bob carefully peeks up over his sunglasses. It was certainly about time they got along.

“Am I able to come out yet?”

Bob pats the giant beach bag that rests on the chair next to him. “Let them finish eating. I think you’d give Goldeneye and Goldilocks a heart attack if you popped out.”

Mokona does so anyway, ears twitching as his head pops above the threshold. “You promised me a look at your Paladins.” Squinting, Mokona eyes Lance and Pidge up and down. “The Knights are far more impressive. There are only three of them, and you must have  _ five _ Paladins.”

Bob shoves Mokona back into the bag. “One planet versus an entire universe. I don’t think there’s any contest. I’d like to see the girls pass my test with as high a score as the Paladins did.”

“Their Wills would overpower yours!” Mokona exclaims indignantly. 

Lance looks up and Bob puts back on his sunglasses and fedora, propping up his trenchcoat for good measure as the former Blue Paladin scans around, looking for something off. The kid’s instincts were really something else. 

“Maybe,” Bob admits offhandedly. “Just as long as they continue to get along. The Rift Creature won’t be cutting any of them any slack. You ready on your end?”

“Yes,” Mokona confirms flippantly. “Create the planet and hold the Creature’s attention until Allura can deal with them. Easy. Their Will individually is weak.”

“Five Paladins, three Knights, a giant robot fortress, and the power of friendship against an evil being from between realities,” Bob muses. “For all our sakes, I hope our makeshift chess set wins.”

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [Tumblr](https://rueitae.tumblr.com/). Please let me know if you liked it!


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